Posts by Journeyman

11530

It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

Journeyman

Goodness me, he does love the sound of his own voice, doesn't he? Almost seventeen minutes to just say "thanks for those who have contributed so far, but we need more money to survive (but I'm not begging); we need 500 patrons contributing to survive, 600-620 to move forward, otherwise we may need to scale back"? (The last minute was talking about other matters). He re-reads a message he's already sent out for about two minutes, then spends nearly FIFTEEN more saying more-or-less the same thing in about 2-3 different ways!

Perhaps the other members of “Ipsilon Media” should get together and get rid of him, since he is the liability here, and probably the easiest to replace too.

A good point! He is the 'brand' that has been tainted - it would be better all round for him to relinquish the host/interviewer role to a fresh face/voice and rebrand the channel, if he really wants Ipsilon Media to continue and perhaps be a success. That will never happen, of course.
Besides, what exactly is his channel supposed to be, going forward? It's not sustainable as a business model just to be a channel that discusses different religions. If he wants to make it more investigative, he will need insiders and contacts that it seems he no longer has due to his recent actions and indiscretions.

39

GB Update - Meet the new GB members

by eyeslice in

jw
friends

i overheard my wife listening to '2023 governing body update #2, presented by kenneth cook jnr.

a few points i got from it.. new hour requirements.

quote "with the new hour requirements for pioneers, many us us can share in the pioneer work.

Journeyman

Matthew 24:14 says to go forth and spread the gospel in all the earth, but I missed the part where it said pioneers must keep track of how many hours so they can turn in the required time slip each month.

I agree. Elder and even MS you could claim are scriptural roles, but there's nothing scriptural about 'pioneer'.
Ministry is supposed to be an intrinsic part of living as a Christian, not a specific hour requirement you check off every month and report back. Jesus' disciples returned with experiences to discuss, not an hourly report! Can you imagine the apostle Paul carrying a slip to mark off time, and saying "one more visit then I'll have done my time for the month"!

It's created a totally distorted attitude to ministry. Most of us will know the old "got to get my hours in"/"start my time by leaving a tract" thinking it breeds (and many of us maybe even used to think that way ourselves). Pioneers especially, end up thinking more about time and placements than about people.

Bringing it back to GB members, they of course encourage this thinking with all the fuss about how wonderfully spiritual it is to be a pioneer, and all the fawning over "fulltime service" in meeting parts and talks. They spend far more time emphasising that than, say, working on spiritual qualities (eg: the fruitage of the spirit) and being a better individual, married couple, family, etc.

171

Mass Shooting at Kingdom Hall in Hamburg, Germany

by EdenOne in

mass shooting at a kingdom hall in hamburg, germany this evening.

at least 6 or 7 killed, dozens injured.

single shooter on the run, police doesn't rule out more shooters.

Journeyman

Letter from the CE branch

LoyalLeon - that letter is notable for its failure to acknowledge the assistance of the "superior authorities", in particular the armed police and paramedics. Some news reports at the time said that officers were on a training course nearby and had been able to attend swiftly, which likely prevented fewer casualties as the perpetrator fled upstairs away from the arriving cops.

Also, even allowing for the possibility of poor translation, the phrase "We are pleased to inform you" does seem in poor taste. Surely just "A special funeral program is planned..." would have been more appropriate (and the Org does love the word "special"). Not sure it was necessary to mention the attendance of a GB member ahead of time either. Again, a contrast with the past, where GB1.0 would never have "blown a trumpet" before themselves about attending such an event.

It will be interesting to see if any reports come out of that funeral event regarding the talk(s) given and their tone and content.

171

Mass Shooting at Kingdom Hall in Hamburg, Germany

by EdenOne in

mass shooting at a kingdom hall in hamburg, germany this evening.

at least 6 or 7 killed, dozens injured.

single shooter on the run, police doesn't rule out more shooters.

Journeyman

Not a single word of praise or gratitude to the police and authorities for their prompt intervention that probably saved many more lives

Interestingly, they did thank the police and other authorities in the notice posted on the website Newsroom, but that was mysteriously removed within a couple of days.

171

Mass Shooting at Kingdom Hall in Hamburg, Germany

by EdenOne in

mass shooting at a kingdom hall in hamburg, germany this evening.

at least 6 or 7 killed, dozens injured.

single shooter on the run, police doesn't rule out more shooters.

Journeyman

The german public attorney mentioned that the suspect "left the congregation a year and half ago voluntarily, but not in good terms". What exactly does this mean?

Disassociated after a 'dispute' over teachings or reproof? Sounds plausible.

171

Mass Shooting at Kingdom Hall in Hamburg, Germany

by EdenOne in

mass shooting at a kingdom hall in hamburg, germany this evening.

at least 6 or 7 killed, dozens injured.

single shooter on the run, police doesn't rule out more shooters.

Journeyman

The more that is coming out about this, the less I think it's actually a problem for JW's as such.

This individual sounds like your common-or-garden unstable personality, of the sort we hear about all the time in all kind of places.

Disfellowshipping (or other removal/rejection from a religious community), firing from their job or being rejected in love, there are a lot of people like this (overwhelmingly men, sadly) who react violently, as we are seeing on the news these days - attacking their former employer, former school/college, ex-partner or whatever.

Only the most vehement enemies of JWs - the sort who will use any negative story like this to attack them - are likely to get mileage from this story, unless something very different emerges.

However, how the Org or individual Witnesses themselves choose to react to this single incident will be interesting. Will they overreact/go overboard on security, or just recognise (as according to their understanding of the Bible) that this is just part of the 'times' we are living in?

171

Mass Shooting at Kingdom Hall in Hamburg, Germany

by EdenOne in

mass shooting at a kingdom hall in hamburg, germany this evening.

at least 6 or 7 killed, dozens injured.

single shooter on the run, police doesn't rule out more shooters.

Journeyman

It's too early to say whether this is anything to do with ongoing issues with WT policies, and frankly I think it's a bit tasteless to draw that link until and unless there is evidence. Even then, that doesn't excuse this kind of outrage.

The reality is that unarmed and generally innocent people are being targeted for violent attacks much more these days in various parts of the western world for all kinds of reasons, and any mass attack like this, whether it's on a school, office or religious building should be condemned without any excuses or reservations.

On the other hand, I do agree with LongHairGal that this is going to really mess up the GB's attempt to get the congregations back to the Halls! Most JWs are paranoid enough, and this is going to really get them frightened, especially as the ones in 'comfortable' western countries tend to live in a bubble where all the bad stuff happens to people 'outside' (until it happens to them, of course).

773

Breaking News: Anthony Morris III no longer serving on the Governing Body

by WingCommander in

jw
friends

this has been announced on the jw's official website, in the "jw news" section.

this is not a joke.

anthony moron da turd is out as a gluttonous body member!

Journeyman

Regarding why AM3 is no longer on the GB, the real reason is still only speculative at the moment, but aside from that, I've been trying to work out why the announcement was suddenly taken off the website. Surely it can't be that the decision might be reversed? Is there some kind of dispute, maybe even threat of legal action from AM3, about it? Even so, he has been removed from the list of names, and the picture featuring him has been changed, so that seems unlikely.

Then it occurred to me that the most likely reason is probably the one that best fits with human behaviour (as it often is): When the word got around (as we know it does on the JW grapevine) the HQ and branches have probably been flooded with calls and emails asking what happened, so the mothership decided to pull the plug on the announcement to damp down the fuss. They're probably hoping to slow the spread of the news and rumours, and so far it seems that's been successful, since the R&F are trained not to (at least openly) spread gossip.

That also fits the trend in recent years for the Org to be over-reactive, rather than thinking ahead and being more slow to act as the old GB used to be - post up the notice, then hastily pull it when the proverbial stuff hits the fan!

773

Breaking News: Anthony Morris III no longer serving on the Governing Body

by WingCommander in

jw
friends

this has been announced on the jw's official website, in the "jw news" section.

this is not a joke.

anthony moron da turd is out as a gluttonous body member!

Journeyman

All they have to do is have their media content director hit the DELETE button

Well, yes, technically that's all they have to do, but this is not the same as removing some minor bit part publisher from some corner of the world. JWs all over the planet have watched and listened (and in many cases, hung on) to the words of AM3 for years. They will not easily forget his existence, and are likely to be in "shock" about this for some time and puzzled about what's happened.

I agree with slimboyfat - most JWs think of the GB as celebrities (whether they admit it or not) who come right into their homes and halls. AM3's removal or resignation might be considered necessary according to JW 'law' but it is likely to cause consternation among the congregations. This is unprecedented, as the previous GB removals happened before the era of internet and global media. It's going to be hard for the GB to keep a lid on this one, and even more so if it's related to any ongoing legal issues.

Interesting times ahead...

773

Breaking News: Anthony Morris III no longer serving on the Governing Body

by WingCommander in

jw
friends

this has been announced on the jw's official website, in the "jw news" section.

this is not a joke.

anthony moron da turd is out as a gluttonous body member!

Journeyman

Very interesting development.

This raises a question I've had in mind ever since the Org went into 'televangelist' mode with their broadcasts and all those video parts in meetings: What happens to the talks and items given by a senior member (in this case GB, but could apply to any GB "helper" too) if they are 'disciplined' (or even worse, DFed)? Will they all have to be withdrawn/re-recorded?

The precedent for 'ordinary' Witnesses seems to be that their part gets removed (we've seen this with some contributions to songs and interviews, I believe) - but for a GB member who has been so prominent in conventions and broadcasts, that would be quite a feat to pull off! This is especially pertinent given the current GB have foolishly and presumptuously made themselves media 'stars' in the JW world.